Infusio Day Twelve

Fortunately I had managed to get a much better and less interrupted sleep, but woke on Tuesday feeling even more sick, nauseous and sore. We took an Uber for the last time from Santa Monica to Infusio, bringing all our luggage with us to move to our new hotel after the day’s treatment. I was feeling extremely hypersensitive, so I was less than thrilled to discover I had NAD injections first up on my schedule, but thankfully Hollis was back in and I told myself this was the last time I would have all thirteen at once, so I could absolutely get through them. Although very painful they were over quickly, and I settled down on one of the reclining chairs, feeling so sick I could barely open my eyes. I was meant to be getting a massage, and a new massage therapist Malia had just started working at Infusio, so I felt terrible having to tell her I didn’t think I could manage the therapy, or even making it into the room. Fortunately she was quite literally the loveliest, most empathetic and compassionate soul ever, and said she would do gentle massage on me whilst I stayed exactly where I was. She chatted with me whilst she gave me a foot massage, and was able to distract me a little from the nausea and pain which was amazing. She told me all about her work and how she had become a massage therapist, and it was immediately apparent that this was the perfect job for her. Sometimes you just instantly connect with someone and I definitely felt that with Malia on our first meeting, and was extremely grateful at her going above and beyond just to try and make me a little comfortable.

Next up I had a General Diagnostics scan for thirty minutes, and then started up on my IVs for the day. Because it was pre-procedure day I was having different IVs to what I had been given most days, and was due to get NAD followed by Myers. Although some days I had gotten through 6 IV bags, I had to go extremely slowly with the one bag of NAD and it took me the rest of the day to complete it; in fact I was the last patient left today, as I was just feeling so hypersensitive and so nauseous I was struggling to tolerate the NAD. Every couple of hours I would be given more Zofran for nausea, but I was still really struggling with it. Dr Kim came to check on me and see how I was in preparation for getting Stem Cells tomorrow, and after seeing how unwell I was feeling she decided that I should go up a couple of doses on my medication in order to ensure that I was well enough to get the procedure, and explained that the fact I was still so sick and not improving after over a week of withdrawal was a sign that my body was just not able to cope with such a low dose at this stage. Initially I did feel very discouraged and annoyed at myself for being weak and feeling like I had failed, but she reassured me by explaining that the fact I would still be on a low enough dose to safely get the treatment and for the post-Stem period, in addition to the fact that I would still be taking a much reduced dose than I had arrived on, was most certainly a positive thing a positive thing and I shouldn’t beat myself up over it. This definitely made me feel a little better and I was quietly relieved at the prospect of finally getting some relief and hopefully feeling a bit better tomorrow, as well as being well enough to finally get my Stem Cells. I really was feeling so incredibly unwell at this point, this day was the only day of treatment that I didn’t record a proper voice journal (hence the shorter summary!), which definitely reflects how weak and sick I was at this point, even looking at the photos of myself sitting outside getting my IVs it’s obvious that I truly look like a shadow of my already sick self.

After finally finishing the Myers IV and getting my Thymus shot we were free to go, and headed to Hotel Sixty to check in and head to bed in preparation for the surgery the next morning. I was very grateful to not be travelling all the way back to Santa Monica and we checked into a lovely room which I was relieved to see was going to very comfortable for the next week. The hotel had a beautiful roof top terrace and pool with views over Beverly Hills, and we sat upstairs for half an hour before I took my new medication dose and went straight to bed. I was definitely feeling nervous to finally get my Stem Cells, but really more anxious that I would be well enough to receive them than about the actual procedure itself. After the delay and extension of treatment over the past week I felt ready, and I fell asleep hoping and praying to feel better in the morning.

About Me

Hi I’m Lottie, I’m a twenty-something year old living in London and in 2015 I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. I post about how I manage my illness, and the treatments, lifestyle and diet changes I have undergone on my journey back to health. Sharing the highs alongside the lows, I aim to give an honest and authentic insight into living life with chronic illness.